After the (First) Kiss
by em45
Summary: So like many, I'm obsessed with Bughead. I started this after episode 6, so it diverges from there, basically just what I thought might happen if they decided not to tell people about their relationship, what with whole murder-mystery/ Archie awkwardness. Lots of fluff/ smut.
1. Chapter 1

It had been a week. Seven days since she had been to see Polly, and absolutely nothing had happened. There had been no clues as to where she'd gone, all anyone knew was that the supposedly merciful Sisters hadn't done a good enough job keeping Polly locked up. Things had been utterly steady; Betty was going to school, working on the paper with Jughead, hanging out with Veronica and Archie, and coming entirely undone inside. When she wasn't thinking about Polly, she was thinking about Jughead. It had been a week since he'd kissed her in her room, and he hadn't done anything since then to even suggest romance. Betty couldn't figure it out. He had seemed confident enough when he did it, so why was he backing off now? It wasn't that things had been weird between them, they hadn't. It was just as if it had never happened, and Betty didn't know why.

Take today for example. The two were in the Blue and Gold office doing some research while Ethel, who had signed on to help with less intensive stories, wrote at her desk. It was around 4 when Ethel finished editing the feature she was writing and sent it over to Betty to put in that week's issue.

"Alright, I'm off then," Ethel said, scooting her chair back and putting on her coat. "Will you guys be out soon or should I lock up?"

"I'll definitely be at this a while longer, thanks though," Betty replied, looking up briefly.

"Same," came Jughead's brief echo. "See ya."

"See you guys."

"Have a nice night Ethel." She left and Betty heard the lock click after her. "I want to find something before I leave but I'm not finding a lot of interest in these histories, are you?"

"Nada. They seem to have written about everything people did that wouldn't have caused family tensions."

Betty wasn't sure what to say next. She continued reading for a while, never fully absorbed in her work, always with half a mind on her friend. It was in moments like this when she found herself distracted and lost for words around Jughead that Betty noticed the difference.

"Hang on, I might have something," Jughead's comment brought Betty back and she was suddenly embarrassed for being so preoccupied with thoughts of him when he clearly wasn't with her. "Come look at this, it's about the Blossom family buying a piece of land in a foreclosure. It seems like it was a bit of a tough process, and apparently it originally belonged to a Lodge."

Betty walked over to Jughead's desk and leaned over his shoulder. She read enough of the article before she smelled his aftershave and got distracted to be able to tell that this could be a lead, but that they would have to do more digging into what happened, and why the Lodges, one of Riverdale's wealthiest families, would have lost property to the bank. But right now Betty wasn't thinking about that, and she certainly wasn't thinking clearly. Maybe that was why when Jughead cracked a joke she didn't quite catch, seeming perfectly at ease this close to her, she simply said "Juggie," her voice low, but not shaking.

Jughead had just turned his head slightly to face her when Betty heard the doorknob turning and looked up, startled, as Ethel walked back into the room.

"Hey, did I leave my phone here?" she asked, thankfully not noticing Betty's blush.

"Oh, um, I don't know, sorry," Betty responded.

"Yes, here it is! Thank god, I tore my house apart, then the coffee shop, before finally realizing it might be here."

"Well I'm glad it is, that's never fun," Betty knew she sounded like a moron, but she was still adjusting to being pulled out of her world.

"Are you guys heading home soon?" Ethel asked. "It's getting kind of late."

"Um, yeah," Betty answered, moving to pack up her things. "I think we can count our new lead as a good day's work. Jug?"

"You go ahead," he replied. "I've got some editing I want to get done here."

"Okay, I guess I'll see you at Archie's tomorrow then?" Betty grabbed her coat and began to follow Ethel back to the door, and Jughead looked up briefly to smile and nod his confirmation at her.

"Yeah, definitely. See you Bets."

Once Jughead was sure the two women had left the school, he went to a cupboard on the still-dormant side of the Blue and Gold office and pulled out his backpack and sleeping bag, setting up camp for the night.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day, Betty started getting ready earlier than necessary to go over to Archie's for movie night, doing her makeup (just enough to make it look like she wasn't wearing any), and applying lip balm while continually telling herself that she wasn't doing all this just for Jughead. She knew it was stupid, considering that she had known him her whole life, but she was nervous, and she needed to do something to distract herself. Betty had decided that at some point she would get Jughead alone and confront him. Maybe she would just kiss him, like she had been about to do in the newspaper office. But if she wasn't feeling bold enough to do that she would at least get him to talk about why they were in this weird limbo, when all she wanted to do was take the momentum from that kiss and run with it.

Betty had told Veronica what had happened, of course, so she could at least count on her help in getting a minute alone with Jughead. When her clock read 4:55, Betty steeled herself one last time, checked her reflection, and, satisfied, grabbed her coat and headed out the door.

By the time she got to Archie's Veronica and Kevin had already arrived, and the three were sitting in the kitchen chatting. Betty joined them until Jughead arrived and they moved to the basement to start the movies. Veronica and Jughead had coopted the selections, movies being the only thing the two really had in common, so the theme for the night was classic crime flicks. The first movie, Goodfellas, passed without event, and when Archie was popping Reservoir Dogs into the player Jughead announced that he was going to go get another drink. After waiting a moment for Jughead to leave the room, and to see if anyone else would follow suit, Betty exchanged a knowing glance with Veronica and rose with the expressed intent of getting more popcorn.

A "thanks Bets," from Archie was all the response she got, so Betty headed upstairs with the popcorn bowl in search of Jughead.

When she got to the kitchen it was empty but Betty could hear the sink running in the bathroom, so she grabbed a bag of popcorn from the panty and put it in the microwave, then moved to a chair near the doorway.

"Hey," she said (in what she hoped was a casual way) when Jughead entered.

"Hey," he replied, exceedingly natural. "Replenishing the snack supply?"

"Yeah," Betty fell quiet.

"Are we going to talk?" She finally asked. "About what happened last week?"

"We can if you want to," he replied, ever cool. "But if you don't, we don't need to. It's fine, I'm fine."

"Fine with what?"

"I mean if you don't want to do that again, it's cool."

"What on earth made you think that?" Betty stood, and moved a little closer to him now, though he was only a few feet away.

"It's just that I know it's soon after the Archie thing, and I can't expect your feelings for him to just disappear overnight, and then I couldn't tell if you were really into it, and the car thing, I thought maybe that was your way of stopping it without having to tell me you weren't interested, so I just figured I wouldn't pursue anything unless you gave me a clear sign you were interested." Betty had never known Jughead, always so good with words, to ramble, but here he was doing just that.

Betty moved closer to him again, moving her hand up his arm, coming to rest with one arm draped over his shoulder and the other hand placed on his chest.

"Believe me," she said. "I'm very interested," and with that she kissed him. Not a safe kiss like the one they had previously shared, this kiss started out tentative but quickly deepened as Betty felt all the emotions she had experienced over the past week — the confusion, the excitement, and most of all the impatience — come bubbling to the surface.

After a moment, Betty tentatively opened her mouth and brushed her tongue along Jughead's bottom lip, asking him to invite her in. Jughead took that as all the encouragement he needed and reciprocated, slowly backing Betty into the counter and placing his hands on her hips. Betty decided she liked very much how Jughead tasted, faintly like the whiskey he was drinking. She wanted more though, so she slid her hand up Jughead's chest and curled it in his hair. He responded just how Betty wanted, deepening the kiss further and moving his hands, sliding one around to the small of her back and the other up her side, moving to graze her breast. Betty moaned in approval and he was just starting to get more adventurous when the two heard Archie's voice coming up the stairs.

"Hey Betty! You and Jughead had better not be eating all that popcorn yourself!"

The two broke apart, Jughead immediately going to open the microwave and Betty turning to grab the bowl she had set on the counter as Archie came into the room.

"Don't worry buddy, you didn't give me enough time," Jughead said coolly, acting as if he had been about to eat it but had been thwarted.

"Man, perfect timing," responded Archie, grabbing two beers out of the fridge for himself and (Betty assumed) Veronica as Jughead emptied the popcorn into the bowl, sharing an intense look with Betty who blushed slightly but held his gaze.

The three returned to the basement where, Betty noticed, Veronica had strategically positioned herself with room for one person between herself and Kevin, and two on her other side. Jughead, ahead of the other two, took the outside seat, leaving Betty to settle herself between him and Veronica and drape a blanket over herself and Jughead.

Veronica looked over at Betty suggestively when she did that, as if to tell her not to get any ideas, but Betty shot her friend a look that seemed to satisfy her. She wasn't planning on _doing_ anything after all, she just wanted to be able to get close to Jughead without anyone noticing. Not that they wouldn't have been close anyways, the two of them and Archie had been best friends for as long as she could remember. Betty just wanted to have the option of, say, holding Jughead's hand without the comments she knew would follow.

Jughead seemed to be on the same page, and as soon as the movie got going she felt his hand brush her leg, drawing patterns on the side of her thigh. She moved her own hand to his, and began making designs of her own on his forearm. None of this was particularly new, they had always had tickle fights, and played games where they guessed what letters the other was drawing on their back, but now there was an electricity hanging between herself and Jughead that Betty couldn't have ignored if she had wanted to. As the movie continued, then ended, then the next one began, she and Jughead stayed in contact the whole time, with Betty eventually leaning her head on his shoulder (she didn't think that would be perceived oddly), and Jughead snaking his arm around her back while his right hand played with her left, keeping his arm low enough that no one besides Veronica would notice, and he seemed to have figured out that she already knew.

When it came time to leave that night, Kevin's dad arrived to drive him and Veronica home, while Jughead insisted that he would walk, and didn't say anything else on the matter. That gave he and Betty a few moments alone outside after the car had left and Archie had closed his door and gone back inside.

Turning to Betty somewhat tentatively, Jughead looked down and grabbed her hand, interlacing their fingers.

"So," he began, "does this mean we're…"

"Together?" she finished for him, smiling. "If you want to be."

She looked up shyly and saw that Jughead was smiling too, before he leaned down and kissed her.

"Absolutely," he answered. "Should we tell them?"

Betty hesitated. "I don't know… I mean Ronnie knows there's something here, but she won't say anything if we don't want her to. I guess, if they figure it out we could not deny it, but I don't feel a need to make a big public announcement. What do you think?"

"That sounds perfect to me. You know I'm not one for anything big and public. And also… Telling Archie could be a bit…"

"Uncomfortable?" Betty asked, looking up at him. "I'm not interested in Archie anymore, I promise. I don't know how I got over it so quickly, I think I realize now that it really was just a schoolgirl crush, a fantasy of being the perfect girl, a cheerleader, dating a football player. And I love being a River Vixen, but I know now that Archie's not the guy I want. You are, Juggie."

"I know, I mean, I know you said you're over that, but I think everyone's always kind of assumed you two would get together, and I would be the third wheel. I think on some level even Archie assumed that, even if he wasn't thinking about it now," he shrugged, keeping his expression neutral, so she wouldn't think he was just being self-pitying. Thankfully, she seemed to realize that.

"Well as long as you know there's nothing to worry about with Archie, I'm fine with him not knowing. I know you two are just getting back to normal, and if you think telling him would be weird, then we won't tell him."

"Just for now, when it seems right, we'll tell him," he looked her in the eye and cupped her cheek with his hand, glad that they understood each other so well. She leaned her head up to kiss him again, her hand going to the back of his neck and pulling him down towards her. They kissed softly for a moment before she pulled away.

"If we aren't going to tell him though, we should probably stop making out in front of his house," she said, smirking.

Jughead laughed. "I guess you're right, although I do hate to stop…"

Betty removed herself from his embrace, still holding his one hand and laughed with him. "Don't worry," she said, "we have plenty of time. I'll see you later Juggie."

"I'll see you later Bets," he turned and walked towards the school, smiling, while Betty walked up her front steps and disappeared into her house.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Just a quick chapter, the next few will include more plot and definite smut, so you've been warned. I'm also trying/ will try to work in things that have been revealed since 1x05.**

The following week at school, Betty and Jughead couldn't stop catching each others' eyes and smiling, across the classroom, the lunch table, down the hall. In front of the others, they behaved the same as they always had. Luckily everyone knew they were close friends, and their dynamic hadn't changed much, only when they were alone, stealing kisses walking from her house to Pop's to meet the gang, or in rare moments when the newspaper office was empty. Even then it wasn't so much a change as just a wonderful something extra on top of their friendship. The cherry on the Pop's sundae. Veronica had texted Betty later Saturday night, asking for the details of the new item that was so obvious to her eyes, and Betty had told her, asking her not to publicize it. V thought this was _sooo hot_ , of course, so was only too happy to oblige, and she seemed just as happy as Betty and Jughead about the development. Wednesday afternoon after cheer and football practice, Betty ran into Jughead when she, Archie, and Veronica were about to walk home, who asked if she would mind stopping by the Blue and Gold to look something over. Veronica was quick to assure her it was okay, asking Archie to continue walking her home before he could suggest waiting for Betty.

"We'll see you tomorrow!" Veronica called over her shoulder as she led Archie away, daintily holding on to his arm. Betty couldn't help smiling at her best friend.

As there were still a good number of cheerleaders and football players around, Betty and Jughead walked next to each other, close but not touching, chatting lightly as they made their way to the Blue and Gold headquarters.

As soon as they made their way through the door, Betty turned to shut it, and turned back to Jughead crashing his lips down on hers, pinning her to the wall with his body. Betty was immediately engaged, and kissed him back with equal fervour, winding her arms around his neck, until they broke apart, breathless.

"Thank god," Betty breathed, smiling, "I was worried you actually wanted to do work."

"I've been wanting to do that all day," Jughead responded, just as out of breath as she was, "but seeing you practising out there was the last straw."

"Really? Mr Dark-and-brooding likes cheerleaders? Jughead Jones, I never would have guessed," Betty was thrilled at the idea of turning Jughead on, but decided she had to tease him just a little.

"Likes one cheerleader, you mean. I may not be the football star, and I freely admit to hating 95% of Cheryl's demonic posse, but I think that outfit on someone as stunning and sexy as you would do it for just about anyone," Betty was grinning now, biting her lip as Jughead said that and pulling him back in for a kiss. It only lasted so long though, before he moved away from her mouth, smirking at the little whine she gave, and began kissing a line down her neck, brushing his lips over her skin and biting playfully at her collarbone, along the edge of her cheer uniform.

"Mmmm," Betty sighed, twisting her fingers in his hair, prompting a small moan from her… boyfriend? She supposed that was what they were, and smiled at the thought. "We could have gone somewhere else you know," she breathed out, "my place or…" She didn't want to say Jughead's place, she knew things were never really great with his dad.

"Couldn't wait that long," he said coming back up to kiss her mouth and running his hands up her sides. "Besides," he muttered, "your mom terrifies me, and this place has all the comforts of home." He didn't think it necessary to tell her that, for the time being, the office was his home.

Betty raised an eyebrow at that, prompting him to reply simply, looking slightly embarrassed, "couches."

"Well in that case…" Betty started, pushing him back and grabbing his hand, leading him to one of the aforementioned sofas. He followed and gladly sat down when she did, leaning her slightly back in to the cushions and they continued kissing and touching, mostly innocently. They kept up like that until Betty heard her phone buzz, looking over reluctantly to see that not only had more time passed than she had thought, but her mother was calling her.

They broke apart and she picked up, taking a moment to get her breath back first. Jughead couldn't hear exactly what Mrs. Cooper was saying, but from Betty's expression he could gather that it was more of her usual overprotective (read: crazy) mother shtick. Betty didn't seem overly bothered by the time she hung up though, after telling her mother she would be home soon.

"Duty calls," she said, turning back to Jughead.

"I get it," he said, "we couldn't stay here all day after all."

They both moved to adjust their appearances slightly (shirts had become rumpled and his beanie had been knocked off) and gather their bags from where they dropped them at the door. Jughead held out his arm like a perfect imitation of an 1800s gentleman, surprising Betty slightly. "I'll walk you home," he offered, smiling.

Betty gladly looped her hand through his arm and they strolled off, falling back into their pattern of comfortable conversation and friendly banter until they reached her house. As they said goodbye and Jughead left though, Betty remembered what had started the whole thing, namely her very not-conservative uniform, and decided she would be sure to use it again in the future.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Dialogue in italics is from the show, not mine. Anyone else counting down the minutes to the episode tonight?**

"I think we may have hit a dead end," Jughead said suddenly Friday afternoon. He and Betty were lying on her bed watching movies, as they often did, her head on his chest and his arm around her shoulder, his cheek resting softly against the top of her head.

Betty turned her head to look up at him, noticing his brows drawn together in thought. She assumed he was talking about Jason's murder, but for a moment she worried that he meant them, their relationship. "What makes you say that?"

"I've been thinking about that foreclosure. All I can find in the town tax records is that it was repossessed from a Daniel Lodge and sold in '98, that would be the year before Jason and Cheryl were born. That makes it seem significant, but I can't think of how. And I don't think we're going to find anything else there that will help us. I think we need to focus on your sister, finding her, finding out exactly what went down with the families relating to that."

"Yeah, okay," Betty suddenly seemed downcast, a stark contrast to how peaceful she had been moments before.

 _"What is it?"_ Jughead asked, worried. _"I mean, besides everything?"_

 _"She wouldn't have run away if it wasn't for me, Jug."_

Betty looked so upset it broke Jughead's heart, she really believed she was to blame for whatever danger her sister might be in. He supposed excessive guilt was one of the perks of growing up with Alice Cooper and he hated her a little for it. _"Betty, your parents were the ones lying to her, and keeping her in the dark. You did the right thing, telling her the truth."_

She seemed to take some comfort at his words and wrapped an arm around him, pulling him closer and smiling slightly. _"It's funny,"_ she said, _"this isn't the first time Polly's run away from home. She was nine and she and my mom got in this huge fight and she disappeared for hours. The whole neighbourhood was out looking for her,"_ Betty laughed gently into Jughead's chest.

 _"How far did she get?"_ he asked, loving seeing Betty smile again.

Her expression quickly morphed into something else though, as she opened her mouth to answer him. She kissed him quickly and sat up before proclaiming "the attic!" and hopping off her bed.

Jughead, sensing her train of though, followed behind as she let herself into her parents' room to retrieve the flashlight her father kept in his nightstand, and then opened the door to the attic stairs and walked up.

"Polly?" she called softly, shining the light around the dim space. "It's okay, you can come out, it's just me and Jughead."

Jughead looked around him at the artifacts of the sisters' childhoods stored in the room. Despite Alice's questionable parenting strategies, it was clear from the numerous boxes labelled "Betty" and "Polly" with their ages that she was immensely proud of her daughters. Or at least, she had been until Polly's pregnancy.

Spotting a box labelled simply "High School," Jughead moved closer, wondering if it belonged to one of the girls and just hadn't been labelled that way, or if it belonged to one of the Cooper parents and, if so, if it could shed any light on the Cooper-Blossom feud that seemed to run much deeper than the scars left by an old maple syrup empire.

Hearing a disruption from the corner where Betty was standing, he turned to see her and Polly catching each other by the arms and falling into a tight hug. Deciding to give them some privacy, Jughead leaned over and opened the lid of the box. Inside were various remnants of a high school life that had clearly passed — awards, copies of the school paper, pom-poms, shockingly, and four yearbooks, the last one from 1986. Judging by the pom-poms (he assumed Hal Cooper had never been a cheerleader), Jughead guessed that must have been the year Alice graduated from Riverdale High. Betty and Polly were discussing things quietly, still holding each other close, and he heard Betty say she was going to get some supplies from the bathroom to clean up Polly's cut. Remembering the blood on her broken window Jughead panicked and looked over quickly, but saw that her leg was bleeding but her stomach seemed fine. Betty rushed over towards Jughead as he was still closer to the stairs than she was.

"Can you stay with her?" she asked. She looked so hopeful, Jughead couldn't have said no if he had wanted to. She was clearly beyond happy about finding Polly but he recognized the tinge of disbelief on her face — hope that this person she loved so much wouldn't leave again. It was an expression Jughead knew well.

"Of course, we'll be right here. I'll entertain her with my dazzling conversational skills."

"Thank you Juggie," she kissed him quickly and ran down the stairs.

Jughead moved over to sit on the windowsill by Polly, trying to figure out how one acted personable. He decided that staring wouldn't be a great start, so he mostly looked at the floor, glancing up at her occasionally. Luckily, Polly was as much of a natural friend as her sister, and she soon came to his rescue.

"So," she started, "you and Betty, huh?"

Jughead looked up nervously, but saw that she was smiling at him. "Yeah, um, it's pretty new, but, yeah."

He couldn't help but berate himself internally on his lack of eloquence.

"I'm glad, she seems happy. Really happy, not the fake happy she's been for the past while. Although, I guess I haven't seen her in a while really, not since before she left for LA…" Polly trailed off, seeming upset with herself for this, as if she thought it was her fault her parents had locked her up. "But I'm here now," she said, smiling again. "At least until I can go somewhere better, and then you and Betty can come visit."

Polly's inclusion of Jughead in her plan touched him more than she could have known.

"So that's still your plan then?" he asked her. "Moving out and raising the baby?"

"Yes," she said simply, confidently. "I thought about it before I decided to leave the home. I know it'll be harder without Jason, but this is what I want."

"I'm glad," Jughead said hesitantly. "Something good should come out of this."

He heard Betty's footsteps coming back up the stairs and he and Polly both looked up at her as she walked back over to them, moving to sit in a rocking chair that she positioned across from Polly and patting her own thigh, inviting her sister to give her her wounded leg.

"Alright, let's get you fixed up now and figure out what we're going to do," she said, tearing open awn alcohol wipe and beginning to clean the dirt out of Polly's cut. "I know you think Mom and Dad want you to give the baby up, and I don't doubt that they did want that, but now that everyone knows you're pregnant there's no reason. You could come home, raise the baby here," Betty looked so hesitantly hopeful, Jughead wouldn't have thought Alice Cooper's mind could be changed by anything, but Betty's obvious determination made him question that.

"And if they still won't agree," she said, lifting her head to smile boldly at Polly, "we'll figure something out in the meantime. I'll help you get a job, find an apartment, you can be independent and raise your baby without leaving Riverdale."

Betty turned the conversation to possible jobs and baby names and fell into a comfortable chatter with Polly, Jughead contributing occasionally, while she continued to clean and dress her sister's leg. When they were finished, Polly stood and hugged Betty, and told her to get back downstairs before their parents arrived home, asking her not to tell them that she knew where Polly was. When Betty agreed, she released her and hugged Jughead too, surprising him. The hug was a bit awkward, since he didn't usually hug, and this was his girlfriend's sister who he hadn't had a real conversation with in years, and she had that bump that Jughead didn't want to hurt, but the sentiment was nice, and he decided he liked Polly, not just because her being back made Betty so happy.

When he and Betty turned to leave the attic, he remembered to grab the yearbooks from the box, carrying them down to Betty's room to go over on the slim chance that a glance into Alice and Hal's high school years would shed some light on the tensions between the two families.

"What are those?" Betty asked when they were back in her room.

"Your mom's high school yearbooks," Jughead answered, before he realized that might sound weird. "Sorry," he quickly added, "I just figured that your parents and the Blossoms went to school together. There probably won't be anything useful in here but at the very least you can gain some ammunition for the next time Alice Cooper dares to question your appearance. Just on the first page I saw perms and really too many sequins to count."

That got a laugh out of Betty and she grabbed Jughead's free hand and kissed him softly before pulling away, still smiling. "Thank you."

"Anytime Bets, you know that," he answered lightly, but she knew how much he meant it.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Just a quick (and dirty) chapter update, I've got a longer one coming soon (possibly later today) that'll include more of the gang and melodramatic Archie because Archie in episode 8 was just ridiculous.**

After Betty had spoken to her parents and Cheryl had spoken to Clifford and Penelope, it didn't appear that either of the baby's sets of grandparents-to-be would be much help. Thankfully, Veronica had offered up her apartment for Polly to stay in, so that was where she was for the time being.

The yearbooks had turned out to be surprisingly interesting, revealing that not only had Alice Cooper, then Smith, been a cheerleader and close friends with Penelope Blossom, then Thompson, she had also dated Clifford Blossom for junior and senior years. The scratched out heart around the picture of the couple suggested that Alice hadn't been the one to end it, and Betty and Jughead didn't know when Clifford and Penelope had gotten together, but a bad breakup hardly seemed to give her cause to murder her ex-boyfriend and ex-best friend's son, so they decided to put the Alice-Cooper-grudge theory on hold.

As for their relationship, things continued much the same way for Betty and Jughead over the next couple weeks. They worked on the paper and on Jason's case, never finding much; they snuck moments when they could, but were equally happy to hang out with the whole group; and Jughead got skilled at sneaking into Betty's room when her parents weren't home or were already in bed, always checking (just as an added precaution) that Archie wasn't home or couldn't see when he was using the ladder that was kept at the side of the house.

It was on one of these afternoons, when Alice and Hal were working late at the Register, that Betty and Jughead were sprawled across her bed, Chinatown playing, all but forgotten, in the background.

"Oh Juggie… Please!"

"What was that?" Jughead smirked, knowing exactly what she was begging for. He was lying over her, both of them topless and her clad only a skirt and panties that he already knew were soaking wet. Jughead was desperately kissing, sucking, and biting at one of her nipples, while his hand ran up and down the inside of her thighs, torturously close, occasionally brushing lightly over her core, but never doing what she desperately wanted.

"Please Juggie…" she moaned, breathless. Seeing her like that, flushed, with her head back in the pillows, hand in his hair, Jughead finally caved, bringing his fingers to dance over the fabric of her panties before removing them and coming into contact with her bare, wet skin. He groaned at the feeling, dancing his fingers around her folds before plunging two inside her.

She sighed at that, and he detached his mouth from her breast, tracing kisses down her abdomen to join his hand.

Betty jerked her hips involuntarily as he licked her most sensitive areas and sucked her clit into his mouth, arching back against her bed. Jughead had quickly figured out what he was doing down there, despite having had no experience before Betty, in part because she was so vocal, and her entire body was so expressive. That was one of the many things he loved about Betty, while people made assumptions about her because of her clothes and her perfect grades, they never seemed to take into account how assertive she was when she wanted something, and that attitude definitely translated to the bedroom.

After not much time at all, Jughead could feel Betty tensing under him, as her breathing became faster, and he knew she was almost there. He picked up his pace, making his mouth firmer on her and using his fingers to coax her to orgasm.

"Oh, god, oh!" While Betty was always vocal, she became less and less articulate, and Jughead loved that he could do that to her. Finally she spilled over the edge, and Jughead could taste her ecstasy as her felt her muscles contract around him. When she relaxed, he pulled his fingers out of her, smiling, and brought them to his mouth to lick them clean while she watched with half-lidded eyes and heaving breaths, impossibly sexy, drinking in the sight of him. Just remembering the sight of Jughead pleasuring her was enough to make Betty hot any time it came to mind, which was more often than she liked to admit. He crawled back up the bed and pulled her in for a long kiss before relaxing beside her.

"God I love you," she said, facing him, her skirt still on but long forgotten, bunched up around her waist.

"I love you too Bets," he replied, still basking in the feeling of lying next to the girl of his dreams, effectively naked and sated before him, the taste of her still in his mouth. "Although every time you say that under these circumstances I start to think you're only with me for my expertise," he teased her.

"I might be," she teased back, both of them knowing full well that wasn't the case, "would that be a problem?"

"Never," he responded simply, kissing her shoulder and looping an arm over her waist, pulling her close to him.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: So yeah, basically Archie being overdramatic, Jughead being awkward, Veronica being a hero, and Betty being a little inexperienced but also starting to come into her own as a sex goddess.**

"Hey, V?" Betty asked Veronica the next Saturday as they watched movies and painted their nails, trying to appear casual, while she was anything but.

"Yeah?" Veronica could tell her friend was nervous — she wasn't exactly a born deceiver — but she didn't want to make Betty more nervous by making a big deal out of whatever this was.

"Have you ever…" Betty paused, regaining some confidence, "sent pictures, like of yourself, to someone, like in a… a way that's…"

"B, stop right there," Veronica cut her off, finding Betty's timidity a little endearing, but not wanting to cause her any more distress than was necessary. "If you're talking about nudes, I have. What do you want to know about it?"

"Do you regret it? Like did it go well or did other people see them or was it just overly presumptuous because maybe he didn't want to get a picture of you like that?"

"No, I don't. I know some girls who had that happen, but I learned how to be smart about it. You never show your face — at least not your full face — steer clear of distinguishing marks, and don't send anything so explicit it could be in a bad porno, unless you're like, marrying the guy. As for the last part of that question, any guy who would be happy to see it in real life would be happy to see a picture, and I'm guessing the person you've got in mind is a certain boy who's always happy to see you, whether in sweatpants and a parka or next to nothing."

Betty knew she was right, at least about Jughead, and she did always feel wanted and sexy when she was with him, but this was a whole other world to her. She had never been one to assume herself attractive, especially with her mother and girls like Cheryl always pointing out that no matter how hard she tried, she wasn't quite perfect. But still, she had always thought sending a sexy picture would be fun, if she had the confidence to do it (and someone to send it to), and she thought that, with Juggie on the receiving end, she just might.

"I just don't want him to think it's weird," she said aloud to Veronica. "You know Juggie, he's so… not like other guys."

Veronica raised an eyebrow at that. "B, I think every straight guy is more or less the same when it comes to seeing a hot, naked woman."

"You know what I mean though, he doesn't go chasing after every girl in a tight sweater like Archie or Reggie or, hell most of the guys in Riverdale."

"You're right, but this isn't some jock thing, this is just an intimacy thing. And he does go chasing after you, so I have a feeling he'll be pretty into it. Plus, if you're nervous about being too forward you can start out small. You can still wear clothes even. Just show a bit of skin, or a body part that he likes, a little bit of a tease in a mostly safe photo."

"Yeah," Betty responded, feeling more secure with that idea. "I think I could do that. Would you, um, would you mind if I sent it to you first? To double check that it's okay? I promise it won't be anything you'd blush at," she said, smiling, hoping it wasn't a weird request.

Veronica, thankfully, didn't seem phased by it. "Of course," she answered, "second opinions of photos, especially photos of yourself, are invaluable. Hell you can send me ten and I'll tell you which one to choose, like it's a new profile picture," she joked, putting Betty fully at ease as they settled back in to snacking and watching the movie.

That was how it ended up that, the next afternoon, with her door locked and her curtains drawn, Betty was lying on her back, on her bed, in nothing but her cheerleading skirt. She had one leg slightly bent, the knee leaning over her other leg, and the skirt folded down, despite the fact that it was already minuscule, so that the bottom just barely covered her. She took the picture from above, catching the bottom of her breasts, up to right below her nipples. She knew that Jughead would know they were there, right outside the frame, so he just couldn't see them, and she liked how frustrated she imagined, she hoped, that would make him. After taking a couple shots, she picked the one she liked best and sent it to Veronica for approval. Veronica's response erased most of the remaining doubt she was feeling, and Betty determined to send it to Jughead the next day, and tease him a bit before they could meet up.

So the next day, when Betty saw Jughead across the hall between third and fourth periods as she was heading to her next class, she gestured obviously to her phone, typed out a message, and sent the picture, ducking into her classroom while he took his phone out, hoping his response was a good one, but not being quite bold enough to meet his eye after he saw it.

Jughead, standing by his locker, pulled out his phone as the message from Betty came in. He read, "I have cheer practice after school today, want to come over after for an extra workout? ;)". He already gathered the gist of what Betty was suggesting (it would be impossible not to), but when he opened the message to respond he saw the photo, and that caught him completely off guard.

It was Betty, in bed, naked. Or, mostly naked, but her skirt wasn't obscuring much. Shocked, he looked back up to where she had been standing, only to find the space empty. That was probably a good thing really, because Jughead wasn't sure he could have stopped himself from a very public display of affection at that moment. So instead, he looked back down at his phone, trying to shield it from any wandering eyes without being too obvious, so that anyone would have had to look right over his shoulder to see it. He just stared at it for a minute, she looked incredible. Unfortunately for Jughead, he was so wrapped up in the photo that he didn't notice that at least one person would look over his shoulder.

"WHAT THE FUCK?" Archie thundered in his ear, turning heads around them and causing Jughead to jump and almost — _almost_ — drop his phone. He turned to find Archie looking very obviously furious, as if Jughead couldn't have figured that out by his voice.

"Is that Betty?!" he demanded slightly more quietly but still fuming, but didn't give Jughead a chance to answer, not that he had a convincing one ready. "What are you doing with that? Where the fuck did you get it? I thought you were her _friend_ Jug, how could you go around looking at pictures of her like that?"

"What, no, of course not," Jughead didn't know what he was denying exactly, only that he knew he should start denying everything _immediately_.

"I recognize the bedspread Jug, you know how many hours we've spent in her room, I know that's Betty! Who sent you that?" Archie demanded again, clearly intending to extend his long arm of justice to them. "Was it one of the guys on the football team? Was it Trev?"

"What? No, Betty and Trev went on one date, nothing even happened," even though that wasn't the most important part of the question, Jughead feel a need to make sure nobody thought Betty was dating Trev. "It wasn't anyone, it was —" Jughead had no idea where he was going with that but thankfully Veronica, who had been approaching from the other end of the hallway when Archie exploded, caught up now and broke in.

"Oh thank god, so you don't think she should post it either?" she asked, appearing as unruffled as ever by Archie's obvious rage. Now, while he was still fuming, he also looked as confused as Jughead felt.

"What? Post what?" he asked.

"The picture, that's what you're talking about, right? B asked me if it was too risqué and I wasn't quite sure so I sent it to Jughead for a second opinion."

In that moment Jughead thanked every power there was or might be that Veronica Lodge knew about his relationship, because Archie seemed to calm down, and looked back at Jughead, slightly less suspicious. "Is that what happened?"

"Yeah," Jughead responded quickly, "that's what I was trying to tell you."

"Oh, okay," Archie clearly bought the story and was calming himself down. He gave a nervous laugh, "sorry man, I guess I overreacted a bit. And V, tell her definitely not for me, will you?"

"Of course, that's what I was leaning towards too," she smiled at him and Archie walked off, slapping Jughead on the shoulder as he went like he hadn't almost beheaded him. Veronica turned to Jughead.

"You, sir, need to be more careful with that," she said.

"I thought I was being careful! People don't usually cozy up to me and peer over my shoulder in the hallway. How did you know to come to the rescue anyway?" he asked.

"Betty is my best friend," she said, as if that should make everything obvious. Seeing that Jughead was still lost, she continued, "she did ask for my opinion on the photo, but on whether or not I thought she should send it to you, not whether or not she should post it somewhere for the world to see. She was anxious enough about that, the last thing she would want is Archie crusading the halls looking for whoever was sending out elicit photos of his friend."

"Well, thanks. But I could have just told him the truth."

"Are you kidding me? While he was that angry? Don't you want him to be okay with you two?"

"Of course I do, but maybe he would have been."

"Trust me, if his introduction to the two of you as a couple was Betty sending you dirty pictures, something the sweet, innocent girl-next-door he sees would never do, he's going to think you're pressuring her, end of story. Which I happen to know you're not doing, and you're lucky about that, because if you were I would have killed you myself already," she smiled, and Jughead felt a growing respect for the girl who was quickly becoming one of his few friends.

"Right, I guess you do have a point," he admitted.

"I always do. Now I need to go, but when you see her, you make sure you tell Betty just how hot she is, because, I repeat my warning, if you make her feel unwanted, or bad about herself in any way, I will make sure you can never have children."

"Right, definitely. Okay, see you Ronnie," and with that she turned and strutted off, while Jughead regained some composure and texted Betty a "wouldn't miss it" before heading off, late, to his last class, and trying desperately to keep his thoughts off Betty, at least until she had finished practice.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: So this picks up right where chapter 6 left off, and is pure, unadulterated (or would it be adulterated?) smut. I pretty much just wrote this out in one go, but wanted to get it done and posted tonight, so here it is!**

"You have no idea how hard the past 2 hours and… 53 minutes have been," Jughead told Betty before pulling her into a kiss when she opened the door to her bedroom, one hand on the back of her neck, tangling in her hair (still in its ponytail) and the other going to the small of her back, pressing her towards him. He had gotten there a few minutes before, using the spare key to let himself in (she had told him where her parents hid it so he wouldn't have to use the window or wait outside where someone, namely Archie, could see him).

She giggled and looked up at him heavily as she pulled back for a breath, slowly lifting one hand to pull out her hair elastic and shaking out her blonde curls. "Well if I had known you wouldn't like it…" Betty knew she was inviting Jughead to interrupt her, to show her she was wrong.

"I never said anything remotely close to that," she laughed again and he kissed her harder, deeper, as if to prove just how much he liked the photo, the only thing he had been able to think about since receiving it, exactly 2 hours and 53 minutes prior.

Not planning to waste any more time, Betty pushed his hoodie off his shoulders then slid her hands down to his chest and nudged him back towards her bed. Jughead happily obliged, moving his hands to her hips. He sat down and scooted back when he hit the edge of her bed, while Betty climbed on top of him, straddling his waist and bringing her hands to the back of his neck, to play with the hair that always stuck out from the bottom of his beanie. She darted her tongue out to lick his bottom lip, and he happily opened his mouth, bringing his own tongue out to meet hers. The passion of their kiss kept increasing, Jughead groaning into her mouth and their tongues moving aggressively but in sync. Betty could feel Jughead's need for control but refused to relinquish it, knowing that they both loved the struggle more than either enjoyed actually being in charge.

Pulling her hips slightly up and closer in to Jughead's and earning a moan from him, Betty began to slowly drag her hands down his chest, lightly scratching through his t-shirt as she went, knowing the slow pace would infuriate him. When she reached the hem she played with the fabric only momentarily before breaking the kiss, panting, to lift it over his head and throw it away. He quickly pulled her back into him, revelling in the feeling of her mouth on his and she reciprocated, unable to get enough of the taste of him, tinged with cigarettes and cola. In Betty's mind this was the perfect combination that captured the enigma that was Jughead Jones — a combination of the rebellious, the damaged, the imperfect, the prematurely adult and the pure, the sweet, the undeniably goofy, the still-young. She continued to run her hands over his chest, his shoulders, his arms, up his back, wanting to feel all of him and scratching as she went, while his hands tightened on her hips, then one wound around to her lower back, pressing her towards him, and the other ran up and then back down her side, coming to an almost rest on her thigh and playing with the bottom of the cheerleading skirt she still had on from practice. Betty shivered and moaned into the kiss at the feeling of his soft caresses on her skin, contrasted with the urgency of the kiss, of his hand on her back pressing her as close to him as he could without subsuming her.

Soon she felt Jughead's hands glide up her back then pull down the zipper of her uniform top and pull it off her arms, the two of them leaning their heads together to avoid breaking the kiss for as long as possible before Betty had to, pulling her sports bra over her head. While she did that, Jughead continued trailing his hands down her back, unzipping her skirt and pushing it out of the way to firmly grip her ass. With his gaze still on her, Jughead thought that he had never been more glad for the unseasonably warm weather Riverdale had been experiencing, as it meant that there was no white turtleneck under Betty's top — just her soft, flawless skin. He drank in the sight of her hungrily and Betty flushed, not from embarrassment at this point, but from the feelings the intensity of his gaze stirred in her. She felt beautiful, and powerful, and like she could take what she wanted and he would willingly surrender it, knowing she would do the same for him.

Jughead's mouth immediately moved down her neck to her breasts, foregoing anything gentle to suck and bite one nipple, while his hand firmly kneaded her other breast, pinching and rolling the nipple there. Her head falling back in pleasure at the sensation, Betty revelled in the attention he was paying to her chest, moaning affirmations loudly, and began to grind her hips over his, feeling him hardening beneath her. The action elicited a groan from Jughead, and the vibration on her skin felt even better for Betty.

Losing whatever patience she had left, Betty reached one hand down behind her to rub him through his jeans, while she raised herself off him slightly so her other hand could access his belt, smoothly undoing it. She pushed Jughead forward onto his back and scooted up him slightly so she could push his pants and boxers down his legs, as he raised his hips off the bed to oblige her. His pants out of the way, Jughead flipped Betty over and pressed her against the bed, slightly beside her rather than above her, coming down to kiss her roughly, growling into her mouth, while his hands pushed her already-unzipped skirt and panties down her long legs. Jughead decided to tease Betty a bit now, as a form of revenge for his distracted afternoon (and awkward encounter with Archie) that he knew she would enjoy. He detached his mouth from her breast, after determining that he had paid each sufficient attention for the time being, and pressed open-mouthed kisses down her torso while she wound her fingers in his hair freely, his crown beanie having been lost somewhere along the line, Jughead having been too distracted to even register it. Hearing Betty's breathing pick up, right before Jughead reached her core, he licked up in a small line and pulled his mouth away, frustrating the blonde beneath him.

"Juggie…" she moaned, obviously upset at the loss.

Jughead laughed against her skin, his mouth now poised halfway up her thigh, and the feeling made her shiver.

"Uh-uh," he teased, grabbing her hips to prevent her bucking towards his mouth. "You made me wait three hours, you have to wait at least a little while longer."

He bagan kissing gently up her inner thighs, sometimes nipping gently, sometimes licking and sucking, while Betty squirmed underneath him.

"Yes, but," her words came slowly, between sighs and moans, "you're not counting… all the time… since I… ohhh… took the… ahhhh…. picture," she finished finally and moaned loudly, as Jughead inched slowly closer to the apex of her thighs, letting his breath drift across her wetness and arouse her impossibly more.

"Well then," he took a break to lick gently up her slit, barely touching her, but the feeling was almost too much for Betty, her hips trying to grind closer to his tongue. "I suppose," here he backed away again, kissing her left thigh, driving her mad and hearing her breath grow even more wild. She knew he couldn't keep teasing her for much longer, but "not much longer" still seemed like an eternity.

"I can be merciful," he finally said, smirking and releasing her hips from one hand, allowing her to buck shamelessly towards his mouth as he began hungrily licking and sucking her, tasting her like he was starving and she was the only thing that could satiate him, which was pretty close to being the truth at the moment. His free hand now came down to join his mouth, as he stroked up and down her core a couple times before plunging one finger, then a second almost immediately, into her hot centre, the combined motions of his hand and mouth causing Betty to moan loudly under him.

"Oh god, oh, yes Juggie" she moaned, and Jughead was absently glad that her window was closed, because he was certain anyone passing by the house would have heard her. Despite that practical concern though, he was also exceedingly proud that he was making her feel that good, so good she couldn't keep quiet.

His fingers continued their work inside her, stroking up towards her stomach in the motion he knew she loved, while his mouth attacked her with the same ferocity that had been present in their kiss. Jughead would have been worried that he was being almost too rough on her, but her continual noises of appreciation combined with her hands alternating between gripping the sheets next to her and gripping his hair, pulling him ever closer, assured him that she was turned on enough that extra pressure only felt good.

Jughead felt Betty's thighs begin to shake and tighten around his head and felt her core tense under the hand he still had splayed against her stomach. If that wasn't enough of a sign, Betty's panted "just like that, I'm close, don't stop Jug" informed him that she was about to come undone under him. He redoubled his efforts, moving his mouth faster against and pressing harder inside her with his fingers, and after a few seconds he felt her whole body tense repeatedly and began to taste her climax. He kept licking, sucking, and kissing her until she was through, then pulled his fingers out, licked up her opening once more and placed kisses up her torso, then over her collarbone, up her neck, and along her jaw as he crawled over her, bringing them back to eye-level and leaning down to meet her as her hands went around his neck and she pulled him into a deep kiss.

Not to be outdone, Betty quickly pushed Jughead over on to his back and ran one hand down his chest and his lean stomach, with the unexpected-but-definitely-there muscles that she loved so much. Rather than taking her time like he had done, Betty's hand continued straight and unflinching on its path until she stroked up his hard member once before gripping it firmly, running her thumb over the sensitive tip and causing Jughead to groan into her mouth, and pumping up and down with long, steady strokes. She considered payback for him making her wait so long, but she had run out of patience long before and continued to stroke him as his hips jerked up into her hand.

"Mmm, Bets…" he moaned against her mouth, making her smirk into the kiss. Just like Jughead, Betty revelled in having the ability to make him come undone. She adored that only she got to see this side of Jughead Jones, usually so stoic and well-spoken, now reduced to primal moans and unintentionally pressing himself further into his grasp. Betty broke their kiss briefly as she reached into her bedside table to the box of condoms she had begun keeping at the back and pulled one out. Giving Jughead one more lingering kiss, she slid down his body, coming to a stop with her face inches from his swollen length. Seeing his eyes darken even more, Betty stared Jughead down as she leaned forward, licked him from base to tip, and took him into her mouth, causing him to shudder and his eyes to fall closed as his head fell back. Swirling her tongue around him, Betty bobbed up and down, taking in more of him with each movement.

"God, Bets, please" Jughead was breathless and his words were practically groans now. Betty knew that, as much as she loved seeing him like that, if she continued for too long he would come undone, so she pulled away and tore open the foil package, sliding the condom down the length of his cock before moving back up his body, positioning him at her entrance, and sinking down onto him in one smooth motion, her eyes fluttering shut at the sensation of being filled by him. Rolling her hips and moaning, Betty began moving up and down, her breathing rapidly catching up to Jughead's as he thrusted up to meet her.

The sight of his beautiful girlfriend bouncing on top of him proved too much for Jughead, and he quickly pulled her down to him for a rough kiss, still thrusting into her, while one hand came up to grasp her breast. This earned a moan from Betty in response, before Jughead flipped her on her back and pounded farther into her as she arched her back and pressed her hips up and into him.

"God yes, Juggie, harder," she panted into his mouth. Just hearing her talk like that made Jughead groan into her mouth and gave him the energy to pick up his pace and his effort, his hips jerking forward harder than he thought possible.

Knowing that he was getting close, and making a bet with himself to get Betty there before he did, Jughead shifted his weight to one arm and brought his now free hand down between them, rubbing her clit vigorously and eliciting a sound somewhere between a moan and a scream from his girlfriend.

"Ahh, yes, oh god yes!" she kept yelling as he beckoned her closer to another climax. "I'm going to… again… ohhh," she yell-moaned as Jughead felt her tightening around his cock, and his own movements became more urgent, harder, and less timed. He felt her climax and thrust into her only a couple more times before the feeling of her around him and the sight of her under him caused him to follow her, groaning out her name into her neck as he came.

When they were both finished, panting heavily with their foreheads pressed together, Jughead pulled out of Betty and disposed of the condom before lying, exhausted, beside her as she turned to face him, running her hand gently along his chest.

"So," he began when he felt he could speak steadily again, "what are you going to tell Cheryl when she asks what you did for your workout?" Jughead knew Cheryl was particularly hard on Betty about working out and eating right despite Betty's history of running, and Jughead was convinced it was because the captain knew Betty wasn't as confident as her and she was, for lack of a better word, a bitch.

"The truth," Betty said, smiling innocently at him and causing him to raise an eyebrow. "I'm going to tell her I fucked the hottest guy in school until I was breathless and see what she has to say to that."

"You cannot possibly know how sexy you are right now," he responded, staring at her in awe. Despite what a cliché he knew it was, Jughead loved when Betty used improper language, it was like when Sandy tells Danny to "tell me about it, stud" and it just reminded him of all the other dirty things her mouth could do.

"I think you just gave me a pretty good idea," she said, pushing herself up onto an elbow and leaning in to kiss him, slow and sweet. Jughead wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her in close. When they eventually broke the kiss she laid her head on his chest and they stayed like that for a while, chatting about school, the paper, whatever came up, neither of them in any rush to go anywhere.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Thank you guys so much for the favs/ follows and especially for the reviews. It's great to know I'm not just publishing this for me! Anyway, I couldn't resist the idea of a Halloween party since it is fall for them, so that'll be coming up (AtomicAdri has a great Halloween story if that interests anyone), but here's an Archie-centric chapter!**

The next week, the thing Jughead had been dreading finally happened. When he was in the locker room getting ready for school, as had become his routine, Archie walked in and Jughead's poor attempt at making a joke to deflect the attention failed miserably. He supposed even Archie was aware enough to know that his friend, who was not on a single school team, shouldn't be standing around the locker room in a towel at 6:30 in the morning. When Archie offered for Jughead to come live with him then, Jughead had a hard time coming up with a solid excuse why he didn't need to.

He mumbled out something about his situation being temporary instead, which he knew didn't make a lot of sense, since he could stay with Archie just as temporarily. The truth was that Jughead felt weird about Archie not knowing about him and Betty, but their more obvious physical contact in front of the group (Jughead thought Kevin knew that something was going on at least) hadn't seemed to tip Archie off yet, and Jughead didn't know how to bring it up. He supposed Archie just thought he and Betty were getting closer because they were working on the paper together, and they weren't exactly making out in the halls, so there was nothing concrete to let him know it was something more. Still, "hey man, I feel weird about moving in with you because I'm dating Betty and she was in love with you for 10 years" seemed a bit awkward. Especially if he brought it up now, he felt like he would be admitting that Archie had some claim on Betty, which he knew everybody else thought, but he truly didn't. He was sure of his relationship with Betty, but he didn't want to suggest, especially to Archie, that he wasn't.

After going through the turmoil of being arrested and having Fred Andrews bail him out because his own father was too hungover to wake up and come to the police station though, Jughead agreed to move in to Andrews' place, temporarily.

One day shortly after Jughead moved in, Archie got home from football practice and noticed his friend wasn't there. He assumed Jughead would be at Pop's, working on his novel, so decided to text him and see if he wanted to join himself, Veronica, and Kevin at a movie. Veronica had already checked with Betty, who said she couldn't make it, Archie couldn't remember why. As he was about to send the text, he happened to look up at Betty's window and see her there. He started to wave but she seemed distracted. He had to admit she looked beautiful. She was wearing a light pink sundress without her usual cardigan. It was shorter than anything she usually wore, and showed off her long legs, thin waist, and lightly tanned skin.

Archie wasn't sure why he couldn't see himself with Betty. Sure he had felt like he wasn't good enough for her when he was with Ms. Grundy, but there was something else. He definitely knew she was attractive, and she (along with Jughead) was his best friend, but when he tried to imagine what it would be like to kiss Betty, let alone do anything else with her, he couldn't. It just felt wrong.

The platonic nature of his thoughts might have been why Archie didn't notice the potentially suggestive position Betty was in, having bent at the hips to pick something up off the floor, letting the bottom of her dress lift higher, revealing her backside to anyone who might have been sitting on her bed, just out of his view. Or maybe Archie just didn't think anything of it because he didn't think there could be anyone there, until he saw a pair of hands, definitely male, reach out to stroke her thighs and play with the hem of her dress as she straightened up and turned back around.

Archie ducked out of the way of the window as she spun, but he didn't think she would have noticed him there anyway. Her vision was fixed on the man, whose identity Archie was now desperate to discover. The hands started to travel up towards her hips, bunching her dress as they went, but Betty pulled them off and pushed them back towards the owner. Archie initially expected her to be upset, but she was smiling as she held up one finger and said something.

Surprising Archie yet again, Betty's hand slid up her back and began to slowly unzip the dress. Sliding the spaghetti straps off one shoulder, then the next, Betty slowly (and, Archie had to admit, sexily) let her dress drop, leaving her standing in her room in a black lace bra and panties. Archie was so shocked at seeing her in something so not-Betty that he remained transfixed until she reached behind her again and undid the clasp of her bra, letting it fall to the floor.

Archie jolted out of his reverie, realizing that he was watching his best friend strip, something he had managed to avoid seeing even accidentally in all the years that they had lived opposite each other. As he was turning away though, Archie saw the mystery man stand and quickly move toward Betty, removing his own shirt as he did. Before Archie could see who he was, he had his face buried in Betty's neck, on the side of her head farthest from Archie, so his face was blocked by her own, tilted up in obvious pleasure as the man's hands went to her thighs and picked her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her over to sit on top of her vanity, and when he pulled away from her neck and began to kiss her, Archie finally got a look at his face.

His shock at realizing that the man was Jughead was even greater than his shock at seeing Betty stripping. Archie immediately turned away fully, guilt at spying on his two best friends mixing with his shock and confusion. Why hadn't they told him about this? Why hadn't he noticed it? He knew he had been busy with music and football, and he had noticed that they seemed closer, but they had been friends for years, so he hadn't thought anything of it. They were obviously comfortable together (what he had seen hadn't been hesitant first time stuff), so the relationship couldn't have been so new that they hadn't had a chance to mention it. But, he wondered, was it even a relationship? Was it just a hookup and that was why they hadn't told him? Still, Archie knew he and Jughead hadn't been as close this year but surely he'd still tell him if he started hooking up with Betty. Unless Jughead felt that he didn't care. He was never one to talk about his own life if he didn't think anyone really wanted to know. Archie decided to send Jughead the text he had typed out inviting him to the movies, and once he got a response, go from there.

It was a couple hours later, after the movie had just let out, that Archie checked his phone and saw that Jughead had responded to his message.

 _Sorry, I was working on some paper stuff with Betty. I'll see you at home soon though._

So Jughead was trying to keep it secret. Archie almost asked Veronica if she knew anything about this, but he figured if Betty hadn't told her and she found out from him that there was even a chance of something going on, she would be relentless with questions. If the two of them wanted to keep whatever they were a secret, that would be the last thing they needed. Instead Archie determined to make it clear to Jughead that he was there for him, and to watch the two of them more closely when they were together around the others, and try to pick up whether they were dating or just friends with benefits.

Jughead got home shortly after Archie, walking into their now-shared bedroom and lying down on the air mattress, and Archie wasn't sure if it was his imagination or if Jughead really did look happier than usual.

"Hey man, how was the paper stuff?" He started, trying to decide how to steer the conversation in the direction he wanted it to go.

"You know, not exactly hard-hitting news, but it's nice to be writing something that actually gets read."

"For sure. And how's Betty?"

"She's great, as always," he laughed slightly at that. "A lot better now that she knows Polly's safe, but she's still pretty bent on finding out who killed Jason. I guess she feels like she owes it to Polly, and to her godchild-to-be."

"Wow, so she's going to be the godmother then?" Betty hadn't told Archie that.

"Yeah, Polly asked her a few days ago."

"Well that's great," Archie hesitated, trying to think of what to say next. "Betty's pretty incredible, huh? That's going to be a lucky kid."

He thought he saw Jughead frown slightly at that before he shrugged. "Yeah, I mean, Betty's Betty. You know."

"Right. And how are you, man?" Archie gave up slightly on subtlety, and threw in the awkward "man" at the end to try to make the question more natural. "Like what's new with you, I feel like I've been shut up writing or at football practice all the time and I don't actually know what's going on with anyone right now."

Archie could tell Jughead knew he was floundering but just raised an eyebrow before responding. "I'm fine, just existing, all that. The novel, the paper, food, the usual activities of a teen writer and social outcast."

Archie laughed at that. "So I'm guessing the social outcast won't be going to Ronnie's Halloween party?"

"Um, actually, I think I am going to go. I figure since I know the host it's not quite as foreign a territory as one of Cheryl's monstrosities," this piqued Archie's interest, but Jughead quickly moved on. "Hey, do you want to get some pizza? I'm starving?"

"When are you not?" he joked. "I'll call in the order," Archie sat up and pulled out his phone, deciding that he would just have to watch Betty and Jughead at school and when the group was out together to get an answer as to what they were, since he didn't want to ask Jughead outright if he wasn't willing to talk about it. Maybe though, at the Halloween party, with a few drinks in each of them, his stoic friend would be a little more forthcoming. That was just over a week away. If he didn't have any answers by then, he decided, he would just ask.


	9. Chapter 9

"Have you noticed Archie acting weird lately?" Betty looked up from the article she was editing to see Jughead looking at her, apparently trying to appear nonchalant. She could see he was nervous for some reason though, and he didn't seem to have gotten any work done in the fifteen or so minutes that they had been in the newspaper office.

"Um, not really," Betty tried to think of anything that stood out about Archie's behaviour but couldn't. "Weird how?"

"Weird… specifically with you. With how he engages with you…" Jughead seemed to be struggling, "compared to with Val or Veronica or other people."

Betty still couldn't quite understand what he was trying to get at, since we was being the opposite of clear, but it was obvious something was bothering him about Archie and… her?

"Juggie, I'll be able to answer a lot better if I know what you're really trying to ask me. What is it?"

Jughead sighed, clearly uncomfortable but resigned. "He keeps making comments to me that he's never made before. It started with him saying how amazing you are and how you'll make a great godmother — which I completely agree with, by the way — and then it's just kept up. Like yesterday he told me Trev was crazy for letting you get away, and didn't I think you were amazing, and you were really glowing at cheer practice, and just really weird little comments that he's never made about you to me, and I guess, I don't know, I'm just wondering if, maybe —"

"Jughead! Spit it out," Betty cut him off, exasperated but laughing slightly.

"I mean has he been like, flirting with you?" Jughead looked at Betty somewhat desperately as he asked that, but then looked away miserably, obviously embarrassed at being the type of guy who worried about other guys flirting with his girlfriend.

Betty was caught completely off guard. She had assumed Jughead thought she and Archie were fighting and was trying to repair a rift between his two best friends. She understood why he was so upset by the idea of Archie flirting with her though. If Archie did reveal that he liked Betty, that would make their relationship a very unwelcome, but necessary, revelation, and Betty knew Jughead was already getting uncomfortable about Archie being in the dark while he was living with the Andrews.

"What? No, god no!" Jughead looked back to her at that, somewhat relieved. "Archie hasn't changed anything about how he acts towards me, it's still very platonic. I don't know why he's acting weird with you, but he hasn't given me any indication of a change in feelings. And you know that if he had changed his mind, he would be showing it. He hasn't exactly been subtle flirting with Val or Ronnie or half of the rest of Riverdale's female population," Betty's (not untrue) joke seemed to put Jughead at ease, as he remembered that Archie was definitely not shy when it came to chasing the girl he wanted. "And even if he did decide he liked me, he would just have to get over that if he wanted to keep being friends with us both, because this, us, isn't going anywhere."

"Okay, I know you're right, it just threw me. But if you really don't think he woke up and realized you would've been the best thing to happen to him, maybe, would you be okay with telling him about us?"

"Of course, he doesn't seem to be picking up that we're together, even though I'll admit I didn't think he was that oblivious," Betty frowned slightly, she hadn't made any effort recently to hide how much time she was spending with Jughead, and even if Archie hadn't wanted to bring it up with either of them in case he was wrong, she expected he would have asked Veronica if something was going on by now. "How about we talk to him tonight, bring it up casually, since we, um… I mean, I kind of assumed, but I get if you don't want to —"

"Betty," Jughead stopped her, smiling, as he knew what she was embarrassed to confirm, "I was also assuming we would be going to Veronica's party together. But I'd like to add that I would be honoured to go with you."

Betty smiled over at him, bashful and, Jughead thought, adorable. "Well I would be likewise honoured. As long as this doesn't entail a couple's costume, because I already have mine ready, and I kind of want to surprise you."

"As long as you don't surprise me by showing up as a sexy nun, or anything else equally oxymoronic and equally Cheryl or Veronica's territory," he paused for a moment, worried he had offended her. "I mean unless you are a sexy nun, because of course you can go as whatever you want and those costumes aren't necessarily less clever or creative than anything else, even though I really just implied that they are by saying that…"

"Don't worry," Betty laughed. "I am not going as a sexy nun. But I think then I get to possibly offend you with saying no shirtless firefighter costume, because, while you know I appreciate what's under that shirt, that one just makes no sense."

This got Jughead laughing too, relieved that he was with someone who, while she appeared his opposite on the surface, thought the same way he did. "It's a deal. Two surprises, no sexy nuns or shirtless firefighters, for either of us. Although, now that I think about it, if you wanted to try your hand at the shirtless firefighter costume I wouldn't be opposed."

"Maybe for a more private occasion," Betty suggested. "But does your surprise mean you haven't thought of what you're going as yet? Because I would be willing to help you figure something out."

"Actually I've got it covered, Archie helped me with a costume. And surprisingly he didn't even try to get me to take my shirt off."

"Surprisingly? Does Archie get you to strip a lot now that you're sharing a room?" Betty did her best to look scandalized, knowing that in reality Archie was exactly the kind of guy who would use Halloween as an excuse to take his top off, and would probably encourage his best friend to do the same, now that he had likely figured out that Jughead somehow didn't have the physique of someone who ate at Pop's at least two meals a day.

"No, thank god. But this summer when he started bulking up he threatened me with hot Halloween costumes, telling me how I needed to 'get laid,'" Jughead said the phrase in his best jock grunt with an edge of disdain. "Apparently he thinks sex makes people less cynical, which is obviously not true, because if it was I would be all sunshine and rainbows by now."

"Well maybe I've brightened you up just enough for him to think he can stop trying to save you," Betty joked. "Although," she began hesitantly, "the tragic results of Riverdale's last swim meet are getting me a little down over here, maybe I could get some help?"

"Anything for you," Jughead answered as he stood and walked towards her. "We can't have people wondering what got Betty Cooper even slightly less chipper, can we?"

Betty giggled as he leaned over her and put his hands on her desk, effectively boxing her in.

"That would be a real travesty," she reached up and laced her fingers together behind Jughead's neck, pulling him down and into a deep kiss. He moved one hand to cup her face and began to wind his fingers into her hair when the door burst open and Veronica strutted in, making the kind of entrance only she could and appearing unfazed by walking in on an obviously private moment.

"Betty, I know you have free period next, and I know you're caught up in every one of your classes so don't even try to argue, you are coming with me to finish prepping for the party. I have drinks waiting to be picked up and I need you to drive, then you need to help me figure out the extra speaker we just bought because my mother and I are both hopeless, and finally you need to gather your shit, move it to my place, and get ready with me and Kevin."

She said all of that so quickly after entering that Jughead was still leaning over Betty, who had separated herself from him and turned her head to address Veronica.

"Of course Ronnie, I'm ready to go. Just let me save this and shut it down and we can head out," she turned back to Jughead, still smiling at the sheer magnitude of her best friend's personality. "Does it still count as going together if I'm already there when the party starts?"

"Absolutely, it'll just be 'existing together' and maybe 'leaving together' or 'crashing at Veronica's together' instead of 'going together,'" Jughead gave a smirk, the one Betty loved, and she kissed him quickly before standing up.

"You're going together?" Veronica chimed in from the doorway. "Finally! Honestly I can't understand how the entire school hasn't figured it out yet."

Smiling, Betty grabbed her coat and bag, let Jughead pull her in for another kiss, and moved toward the door, calling "I'll see you tonight!" over her shoulder at her soon-to-be-public boyfriend.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Holy shit. The writer's block on this one was real. Two months worth of real. But I hope this is worth it. I'll probably end this here, I might post the occasional one-shot in here as I feel like it, or possibly continue the story during season 2, but this is likely it for now, so thanks so much to everyone who read and followed/ favourited/ reviewed, you guys are actually the best. So here it goes, the conclusion to my little Bughead saga.**

While Betty and Veronica spent the afternoon preparing for what Veronica swore would be "the first big city-quality party to hit this small town," and Jughead worked on his novel, moving from the Blue & Gold office to Pop's when the school day ended, Archie went looking for him, to ensure that he wasn't going to ruin the plan for the evening. All he needed to know was that Jughead was still planning to go (check), and that he hadn't changed his mind about his costume (double check). Earlier that week, Archie had seen Betty through her window, wearing a tight black top that sat off her shoulders and had a plunging (to put it modestly) neckline, and equally tight, shiny black pants. He had guessed that it was probably her Halloween costume, but hadn't understood what she was going as until he saw the tight ringlets she was curling her hair into, burning herself in the process, since she usually only curled the ends of her ponytail. The red heels sitting on her dresser and the sounds of Summer Lovin' confirmed for Archie that she was dressing up as Sandy.

From there, Jughead's costume was Archie's idea, as an attempt to get Betty and Jughead to own up to being in a relationship before he confronted them about it, and about why they hadn't told him. Jughead had been more tight lipped than Archie had expected the past week whenever Archie tried to get him to talk about Betty, and he couldn't figure out why. So, thanking his stars that Betty didn't pick a character whose male lead would be more out of Jughead's comfort zone, Archie had convinced Jughead to go, not as Danny, but as a generic greaser. He was glad again that Jughead already had dark hair, because he wasn't sure how he could have convinced him that he needed to dye his hair to play any old greaser.

So, at 9:30 (Archie insisted that this was not too early but not so late that they would offend Veronica) Archie and Jughead entered the Pembrooke to find the party still relatively calm (nothing had been broken yet) but definitely getting going. As Jughead had expected, Archie was dressed as a lifeguard, the tank top serving its sole purpose of showing off his arms, although Jughead didn't know exactly who he was showing off for this week.

"Juggie! Archie!" Jughead heard Betty calling and turned to see her and Veronica making their way towards him through the steadily thickening crowd. Betty looked amazing. Of course Jughead knew immediately who she was supposed to be, and thought she pulled it off better than Olivia Newton-John. He was most surprised though by the fact that Betty's Sandy top was more revealing than the original. It was just as tight and still off the shoulder, but had such a deep V-neck that Jughead didn't think it could be called a V anymore, or a neck, since it dipped all the way to the waistband of her shiny pants. The only thing preventing the material from not even being a shirt was the thin black lacing that went up the front, spaced out enough that it didn't obscure anything. Through the lacing Jughead could clearly see the curve of Betty's breasts, and it struck him that she couldn't be wearing a bra, the thought leading to others that almost put him in an embarrassing situation. Jughead was so taken in by Betty's costume that he didn't realize how his would look next to it until he heard a bark of laughter from Archie.

"Would you look at that Jug, it looks like you're the Danny to Betty's Sandy!" Archie was clearly pleased with the situation, but his laughter only made Jughead uncomfortable, as if it was such a crazy thought to Archie that he and Betty could be together. Veronica also seemed ecstatic, but it was a lot easier for Jughead to believe that she was really being supportive, as she whipped out her phone and demanded that the two get a picture together. With Archie watching on smiling, Jughead and Betty shifted closer together slightly awkwardly, neither one sure how to act.

"Oh come on, put your arm around her Jug, it's not like you've never touched before," Veronica sighed, clearly exasperated. "And Betty, you don't have to dance on him but at least lean in to him a bit, you two look like my grandparents." At Veronica's prompting the pair relaxed slightly, falling into a comfortable position and doing their best to ignore Archie's increasingly heavy stare.

"You look amazing," Jughead said, leaning towards Betty's ear, after Veronica had taken a couple shots of them looking towards the camera.

She smiled up at him. "You look pretty good yourself, stud."

"You know I wasn't supposed to be Danny," Jughead felt the need to assure her. "I could just as easily be Kinickie or really anyone else. I promise I didn't find out you were doing the good-girl-gone-sexy thing and decide to make a clichéd statement about our relationship through my costume."

"Don't worry, I don't think anyone who actually knows Grease as well as you do could ever be mistaken for a true bad boy," Betty smirked.

"Hey now, I am a regular menace, I'll have you know. I'm from the South Side and I wear black and everything, that makes me officially dangerous and gives me the credit to watch all the musicals I want. Plus, how would people know I'm a film buff if I couldn't reference it at the drop of a hat?"

"Whatever you say," she laughed. "And I wasn't trying to do the good girl's bad girl makeover, I had enough of that with the Chuck incident. I sort of decided on being Sandy accidentally," she paused. "I do love the hair though."

"Perhaps you've found the next ponytail?"

"Doubtful, unfortunately. I'd need to be able to run on a lot less sleep if I wanted to do this every morning," Betty gave an exaggerated pout, causing Jughead to laugh.

"Well we can't have that, can we? Now what did you mean by 'accidentally'?" he asked.

"It was the top, really. I found it when Ronnie and I were shopping and kind of fell in love, but I couldn't think of anything I would be able to wear it with, or to, and I knew my mom wouldn't let me out of the house in it. Ronnie suggested making it part of a costume, and the sleeves just screamed Sandy."

"Well I have to say, I love it too. And since you won't be able to leave your house in it again, I guess you'll only be able to wear it in your room to make sure you get your money's worth. And since it would be a waste if nobody saw you in it, I will be happy to be your audience. Who knows, maybe you could even get a few wears out of one visit, putting it on, taking it off, putting it on again much later…"

The side of Jughead that was blatantly sexy was still new to Betty, and she got a rush every time he said something like that. Seeing him do it in public, quietly enough that only she could hear, just made it more exciting, like his private persona had come out to play for the night. At that moment Betty noticed Veronica staring at them with her phone put away, obviously having finished photographing them, and wondered how long she had been done. She was assured that it hadn't been inappropriately long though, when Archie approached the two and began talking.

"Man, it really looks like you two are a couple, and I have to admit you make a pretty good-looking one. But that would be crazy, right?" Archie asked, in what he thought was a foolproof strategy to make them tell him it wasn't crazy, it was the truth. Betty just looked uncomfortable though, and Jughead rubbed the back of his neck and laughed nervously.

"Yeah, crazy. Anyways I need a snack," Jughead looked towards the crowd, obviously making to leave.

"I actually wanted to get a drink," Betty chimed in. "I'll show you where the kitchen is."

With that the two of them left, disappearing into the crowd before Archie could say anything else, leaving him staring after them, wondering how he needed to change his tactics to get his friends to fess up.

Betty and Jughead walked to the kitchen mostly in silence, weaving through the increasing crowd. Betty could tell how uncomfortable Jughead was, and set about trying to reassure him while he rummaged through the fridge, deeming the snack food on the counter insufficient.

"Archie's just joking, because we've been friends for so long. Remember he thought the idea of me and him together was crazy too."

"He may have, but everyone else knew that made sense," Jughead sighed, emerging with the making of a complex sandwich. "We won't make sense to anyone but us."

"And Ronnie," Betty put in, "and Kevin, and Archie and everyone else eventually. I promise. Nothing makes more sense to me than being with you, and he'll be able to see that."

"Yeah, I know you're right. It just feels like I'm putting myself on the line again, waiting for us to get rejected."

"Even if they all rejected this, I never will. You know that Juggie. I love you," Betty said firmly, moving to Jughed's side and leaning her head on his shoulder, one arm going around her waist.

"I know, I love you too," he responded, turning away from his now complete sandwich to hug her. Betty tipped her face up and Jughead leaned into the kiss, soft and lazy. Betty wanted to assure him of how serious she was though, so opened her mouth and deepened the kiss, her hands running over his back, eventually making their way below his shirt and then around to his stomach.

Jughead responded as she had wanted, and as she had known he would, running a hand up to tangle in her hair, the other running over her skin before coming to an almost-full stop rubbing circles over her hip with his thumb.

"Do you think you could put that back in the fridge for a minute?" Betty asked, pulling back and tilting her head in the direction of the sandwich.

"I'll do you one better," Jughead responded, and promptly began to consume his meal as fast as humanly possibly, finishing it in only six bites and grinning at her.

"Dear me Jughead Jones, who knew that speed eating was a turn-on for me?" Betty joked, appraising him.

Jughead leaned in to speak in Betty's ear, "I know exactly how much you like me eating, although as I recall, you prefer when I take my time."

His voice was so heavy with the connotation that Betty immediately blushed deeply, feeling it spread down her chest and drawing Jughead's gaze to follow it when he pulled back.

Betty turned, grabbing his hand, and headed down the hall to the guest bedroom where she would be sleeping that night, dragging Jughead after her, ignoring the few curious glances cast their way. She stepped inside, leaving the light off and spinning to face him as he shut the door behind them, hearing the lock click. Jughead's mouth was on hers in an instant, restrained and sweet compared to his hands, pulling her against him like she was his lifeline.

Betty happily reciprocated, pushing him back against the door and flattening her body against his, needing to feel him everywhere. She pushed his jacket off his shoulders as his hands went to the hem of her shirt and pulled it off, revealing that she wasn't wearing anything underneath. Jughead groaned as he dipped his head to kiss down Betty's neck and onto her bare chest, while she tipped her head back and ran her hands over his torso, anywhere she could reach, wanting his shirt off but not wanting to interrupt his movements yet. She had finally decided to remove his shirt when they heard a voice on the other side of the door.

"Betty?" Veronica asked, sounding concerned. "Are you okay, Cheryl said she saw you come this way, she said you looked upset."

Betty cursed Cheryl silently, knowing she probably hadn't actually been concerned for Betty's welfare, but had likely just wanted someone to catch Betty and Jughead in a scandalous moment.

"Yeah, don't worry about it V, I'm fine," Betty tried to sound neutral but knew that her breathlessness wouldn't help Veronica buy her story.

"Then why are you in your room in the dark instead of being out here? Come on B, let me in, talk to me."

"Was it Chuck? Did he do something?" Archie's voice joining Veronica's made both Betty and Jughead start, and prevented Betty from just admitting the mildly embarrassing truth — that she hadn't been able to wait until after the party and had pulled Jughead into her room after only being there ten minutes. And she hadn't even had a drink yet to blame it on.

"I'm so sorry he's here B, he wasn't supposed to come. I can call security to get him out of here."

"No, really, I didn't even know Chuck was here. I just needed a break for a minute, outfit emergency," Betty lied, apparently somewhat convincingly.

"Okay, are you coming back to the party now then?" Veronica asked.

"In just a minute."

"If you need help I can get Archie to avert his eyes and come help you."

"No really Ronnie, I'm okay, I've got it."

"I hate to do this Betty but I have to call your bluff. I have never encountered a wardrobe malfunction that couldn't have been fixed by now but couldn't use an extra hand. Please tell me what's really going on. Or at least let me come in there and not talk about it with you.

Throughout the conversation Betty and Jughead had stayed frozen against the door, afraid that if they moved too much Veronica would call them out on Betty not being alone. Now Betty looked up at Jughead and shrugged defeatedly.

"Okay, just one second," Betty responded, moving to pick up her shirt from the floor. Jughead picked up his own jacket and turned to unlock the door, opening it once Betty had fixed herself to her standards.

Veronica's face went red as soon as the door opened to reveal the couple, realization of what she had interrupted dawning. Kevin emitted an exaggerated gasp, drawing their attention to the fact that he was standing next to Archie, who just looked smug.

"That bitch!" Veronica gasped, obviously meaning Cheryl, "I am so sorry Betty."

"It's fine V, really," Betty assured her.

Jughead was just staring at Archie, trying to decipher his expression and gauge if he was okay with the revelation. Betty decided to be more direct about it, with both Archie and Kevin.

"We were going to tell you guys. Tonight, actually, just not like this."

"Wait, so this is a 'we'? Not a 'we've never done this before'? How long?" Kevin was obviously ecstatic about that, grinning wider that Betty had seen in a while.

"Yeah, not quite never. Just over a month I think?" Betty looked at Jughead for confirmation, who just nodded, still looking at Archie.

"Wow, I'm impressed with how long you guys kept it a secret then," Archie said. "I only found out last week."

"Wait," Jughead spoke now, "you knew?"

"Yeah, you forgot to close the curtains one day."

Betty and Jughead both blushed deeply and Kevin gasped again.

"Oh my god, this is incredible," he said. "This right here is my new favourite soap opera. How much did you see?" he asked Archie.

"Nothing too much, don't worry.

"So that's why you—" Jughead managed to stutter.

"Why I kept asking you about Betty? And why I made you dress as her Danny? Obviously, I thought if I hinted enough you would admit it. Of course I wasn't sure you were a couple or just hooking up, so I didn't want to just bring it up. But I take it you are an official item? I can start shipping you as Bughead?"

"Never say that again dude," Jughead looked mortified. "But yeah, we're together," he smiled down at Betty, who returned it.

"Well well well, what have we here?"

The five friends looked over to see Cheryl rounding the corner, Reggie and her minions among the small crowd that followed her.

"Looks like baby Cooper got all grown up. And with a snake no less, Mommy's got to love that phallic imagery. I have to say though Jones, I must be the only person who doesn't think she's out of your league. Her crazy brings her right down to your level, congratulations."

"Oh fuck off Cheryl," Veronica snapped, immediately jumping to defend her friend. "Go back to begging Chuck for attention. Unless you came this way looking for some class to go with that costume, cause I have some extra in the linen closet and I'd be happy to let you borrow it for the evening."

Archie laughed out loud at that, making Cheryl go as red as her hair with anger.

"It's fine Ronnie," Betty cut in. "Cheryl's just trying to stir something up, as always. But now that you've created your admittedly underwhelming spectacle you can all go back to the party, because Jughead and I were actually a little busy here."

Cheryl was at a loss for words again, and Betty heard Jughead chuckle behind her.

"You heard her everyone," Archie began shooing them back towards the living room. "Back to the party."

The small group turned to leave, Veronica and Kevin joining them, with Archie bringing up the rear, turning to Betty and Jughead with a smile before he rounded the corner.

"I'm really happy for you guys, just so you know."

"Thanks man," Jughead returned, his worries from earlier in the evening all visibly gone, and let Betty push him back into the guest room.


End file.
